US Submarine Group to Arrive in Australia This Year

The USS Georgia (SSGN 729) submarine belongs to the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class James Kimber)

JAKARTA - The Australian Defense Minister said on Friday, the United States Navy will deploy a nuclear-powered submarine squadron to Australia's strategic naval port this year.

Under the AUKUS agreement, four US-operated submarines will rotate from Australian coastal ports starting next year.

Personnel from the US Submarine Squadron 3 will oversee the operation of the ships, working with Australian and British personnel, said Defense Minister Richard Marles, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (13/6).

"The rotating US forces will train and lay the foundation for Australia to operate its own nuclear-powered submarines in the future," said Defense Minister Marles, adding that the arrival showed "AUKUS is on track and underway now".

US officials say the base near Perth - where the submarines will be rotated - gives its navy a closer proximity to the South China Sea, which is strategic given tensions between China and Taiwan.

Defense Minister Marles' visit to London this week for talks on AUKUS was overshadowed by the surprise resignation of his British counterpart, John Healey, over funding for British defense projects.

Menan Healey promised to support AUKUS after meeting with Defence Minister Marles on Thursday, but resigned from his post ahead of a scheduled visit to the Portsmouth naval base.

Under AUKUS, Australia's most expensive defence project, Canberra will buy three ex-US submarines from 2032.

They also plan to build a new class of nuclear-powered submarines with Britain.

The deal has faced scrutiny over whether slow submarine production rates in the United States and Britain will leave Australia short of the submarines it needs by 2040.